 From high cinema to popcorn movies, these films are the best examples of their categories. ENJOY! |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DRAMA THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) Peter Bogdonavich ACE IN THE HOLE (1951) Billy Wilder THE AMERICAN FRIEND (1977-Germany) Wim Wenders NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955) Charles Laughton OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS (1951-England) Carol Reed THE LAST DETAIL (1973) Hal Ashby THE APARTMENT (1960) Billy Wilder THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940) John Ford |
SILENT DRAMA THE LAST LAUGH (1924-Germany) F.W. Murnau NAPOLEON (1927-France) Abel Gance
PANDORA’S BOX (1929-Germany) G.W.Pabst MADAM DuBARRY (1919-Germany) Ernst Lubitsch WEST OF ZANZIBAR (1928) Tod Browning FAUST (1926-Germany) F.W. Murnau |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ACTION/ADVENTURE THE SEVEN SAMURAI (1954-Japan) Akira Kurosawa THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1978) John Huston TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) John Huston BODYGUARD (1961-Japan) Akira Kurosawa LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962-England) David Lean BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA (1974) Sam Peckinpah YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967) Lewis Gilbert THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981) George Miller BEAU GESTE (1939) William Wellman |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HISTORICAL DRAMA
BURN! (1969-Italian-French) Gillo Pontecorvo THE RIGHT STUFF (1983) Philip Kaufman THE DUELLISTS (1977-England) Ridley Scott AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GOD (1972-Germany) W. Herzog EIGHT MEN OUT (1988) John Sayles |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
WESTERNS STAGECOACH (1939) John Ford RED RIVER (1948) Howard Hawks THE GREAT NORTHFIELD MINNESOTA RAID (1972) Philip Kaufman DIRTY LITTLE BILLY (1972) Stan Dragoti WESTWORLD (1973) Michael Crichton DUCK, YOU SUCKER! (1971-Italy) Sergio Leone RED SUN (1971) Terence Young THE CULPEPPER CATTLE COMPANY (1972) Dick Richards |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ROMANCE MIDNIGHT (1939) Mitchell Leisen SUNRISE (1927) F.W. Murnau ROBIN AND MARION (1976-England) Richard Lester QUEEN CHRISTINA (1933) Rouben Mamoulian FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (1967-England) John Schlesinger THE MODERNS (1988) Alan Rudolph RANDOM HARVEST (1942) Mervyn LeRoy |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SUSPENSE
WAGES OF FEAR (1952-France) Henri Clouzot SECONDS (1966) John Frankenheimer THE CONVERSATION (1974) Francis Coppola VERTIGO (1958) Alfred Hitchcock THE BIRDS (1963) Alfred Hitchcock BLOW UP (1966-England) Michelangelo Antonioni |
CAPER/HEIST THE KILLING (1956) Stanley Kubrick THE ANDERSON TAPES (1972) Sidney Lumet RIFIFI (1954-France) Jules Dassin THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3 (1974) Joseph Sargent THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT (1974) Michael Cimino |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CRIME THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931) William Wellman THE ROARING TWENTIES (1939) Raoul Walsh POINT BLANK (1967) John Boorman WHITE HEAT (1949) Raoul Walsh THE DRIVER (1978) Walter Hill THE GETAWAY (1972) Sam Peckinpah STRAIGHT TIME (1978) Ulu Grosbard THE FREINDS OF EDDIE COYLE (1973) Peter Yates |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FILM NOIR DETOUR (1945) Edgar G. Ulmer TOUCH OF EVIL (1958) Orson Welles LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948) Orson Welles THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1949) Nicholas Ray THE SET-UP (1949) Robert Wise NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947) Edmund Goulding |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MYSTERY THE THIRD MAN (1949-England) Carol Reed REAR WINDOW (1954) Alfred Hitchcock THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1970) Billy Wilder STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940) Boris Ingster KISS ME DEADLY (1955) Robert Aldrich |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| COMEDY DR.STRANGELOVE (1964-England) Stanley Kubrick BEDAZZLED (1967-England) Stanley Donen SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) Billy Wilder DUCK SOUP (1933) Leo McCarey ANNIE HALL (1977) Woody Allen THE SEVEN-YEAR ITCH (1955) Billy Wilder WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? (1957) Frank Tashlin |
SCREWBALL COMEDY
HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) Howard Hawks BALL OF FIRE (1941) Howard Hawks BRINGING UP BABY (1938) Howard Hawks THE LADY EVE (1941) Preston Sturges YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938) Frank Capra NOTHING SACRED (1937) William A. Wellman MY MAN GODFREY (1936) Gregory LaCava |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NAUTICAL THE SEA HAWK (1940) Michael Curtiz MASTER AND COMMANDER (2003) Peter Weir BILLY BUDD (1962-England) Peter Ustinov CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935) Michael Curtiz CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER (1951-England) Raoul Walsh CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS (1937) Victor Fleming DAMN THE DEFIANT! (1962-England) Lewis Gilbert |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| POLITICAL BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1961-Italian) Gillo Pontecorvo WALKER (1987) Alex Cox MEDIUM COOL (1969) Haskell Wexler THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES (1941) Sam Wood THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940) John Ford SALT OF THE EARTH (1953) Herbert Biberman THE CANDIDATE (1972) Michael Ritchie |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HORROR THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) James Whale DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) George Romero THE EXORCIST (1971) William Friedkin GODZILLA (1954 - Japanese version) ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) Roman Polanski THE CRAZIES (2010) Breck Eisner REC (2007-Mexico) Jaume Balagueró |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
FANTASY BARON MUNCHHAUSEN (1989) Terry Gilliam THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR. T (1953) Roy Rowland BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946-France) Jean Cocteau RETURN TO OZ (1985) Walter Murch THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (1995-France) Jean Jeunet |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SUPERHEROES THE ROCKETEER (1991) Joe Johnston CAPTAIN AMERICA (2011) Joe Johnston IRON MAN (2008) Jon Favreau THE PHANTOM (1996) Simon Wincer THE INCREDIBLES (2004) Brad Bird THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) Christopher Nolan |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MUSICALS STORMY WEATHER (1943) Andrew Stone WEST SIDE STORY (1961) Robert Wise THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT (1956) Frank Tashlin COTTON CLUB (1984) Francis Ford Coppola HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964-England) Richard Lester YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942) Michael Curtiz ON THE TOWN (1949) Gene Kelly FOOTLIGHT PARADE (1933) Lloyd Bacon ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979) Alan Arkush THAT'S THE WAY OF THE WORLD (1975) Sig Shore |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BIOGRAPHIES LUST FOR LIFE (1956) Vincent Minnelli AMERICA, AMERICA (1963-USA) Elia Kazan COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER (1980) Michael Apted MILK (2008) Gus Van Sant COOLEY HIGH (1975) Michael Schultz THE EXILES (1961) Kent MacKenzie |
CULT EASY RIDER (1969) Dennis Hopper REPO MAN (1984) Alex Cox FREAKS (1932) Tod Browning AFTER HOURS (1985) Martin Scorsese CABIN BOY (1994) Adam Resnik HEAD (1968) Bob Rafelson THE WORLD"S GREATEST SINNER (1962) Timothy Carey |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| URBAN DRAMAS TAXI DRIVER (1976) Martin Scorsese MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) John Schlesinger MEAN STREETS (1974) Martin Scorses THE LANDLORD (1970) Hal Ashby THE WANDERERS (1979) Philip Kaufman THE LORDS OF FLATBUSH (1974) Stephen Verona STONY ISLAND (1978) Andrew Davis |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WAR
PATHS OF GLORY (1957) Stanley Kubrick FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959-Japan) Kon Ichikawa ACES HIGH (1977-England) Jack Gold DOWNFALL (2004-Germany) Oliver Hirschbeigel FULL METAL JACKET (1987-England) Stanley Kubrick CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH (2009-China) Lu Chuan CATCH-22 (1970) Mike Nichols CROSS OF IRON (1976) Sam Peckanpah THE BEAST (1988) Kevin Reynolds DAWN PATROL (1938) Edmund Goulding |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FOREIGN CLASSICS BREATHLESS (1959-France) Jean-Luc Godard THE ROAD (1954-Italy) Federico Fellini THE BICYCLE THIEF (1947-Italy) Vittorio De Sica SONG OF THE ROAD (1955-India) Satyajit Ray STRAY DOG (1949-Japan) Akira Kurosawa SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER (1960-France) Francois Truffaut |
FILMS ABOUT TELEVISION & MOVIES NETWORK (1976) Sidney Lumet SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) Billy Wilder A FACE IN THE CROWD (1957) Elia Kazan THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952) VIncente Minnelli SHOW PEOPLE (1928) King Vidor THE PLAYER (1996) Robert Altman |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BEST FILMS OF THE 1990s TOPSY-TURVY (1998-England) Mike Leigh HEAVENLY CREATURES (1996-New Zealand) Peter Jackson JFK (1991) Oliver Stone DOROTHY PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE (1997) Alan Rudolph THE LIMEY (1999) Stephen Soderberg CASINO (1995) Martin Scorsese |
SCI-FI THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1976-England) Nicolas Roeg A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) Stanley Kubrick FARENHEIT 451 (1967-England) Francois Truffaut SOYLENT GREEN (1972) Richard Fleisher FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956) Fred Wilcox PLANET OF THE APES (1968) Franklin J. Schaffner BUCKAROO BANZAI (1984) W.D. Richter |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BEST FILMS OF THE 21st CENTURY THE NEW WORLD (2005) Terrence Malick CITY OF GOD (2002-Brazil) Fernando Meirelles MASTER AND COMMANDER (2003) Peter Weir THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007) P.T. Anderson FOG OF WAR (2003) Errol Morris CONTAGION (2011) Steven Soderbergh 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE (2002-England) Michael Winterbottom |
STEAMPUNK 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954) Richard Fleisher THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1970) Billy Wilder CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968) Ken Hughes TIME AFTER TIME (1979) Nicholas Meyer MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961-England) Cy Endfield THE TIME MACHINE (1960) George Pal MASTER OF THE WORLD (1961) William Witney |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BUTTERED POPCORN GOODNESS GLADIATOR THE MUMMY THE MASK OF ZORRO GALAXY QUEST |
JAMES BOND You Only Live Twice Thunderball Diamonds are Forever On Her Majesty's Secret Service Die Another Day |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A more complete list of my favorite films can be found here:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Terrence Malick's "The New World" is the best film of the 21st century...so far If Terrence made a sci-fi flick, the result would be something like this gem of a low budgeter: MONSTERS (2010-England)) Gareth Edwards
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
